Galloping Around The Cosmos Is A Game For The Young

I am participating in a show at Illumine Gallery in St. Thomas in August. The opening date is August 18th.

The theme of the show is “Sci”. My work is featured on the ad.

The gallery owner, a fantastic woman, isn’t a science fiction enthusiast. But she loves art. And she loves my art. This makes her my favourite person right now.

But it also got me to thinking, how does my work look like to someone not in fandoms? Not into conventions or geek stuff?

When I go to cons, it’s usually me being schooled in fandoms I don’t know, or more obscure things. I love it! But I haven’t had to talk to a non-nerd about nerd stuff very often.

And that got me to thinking about the references that do hit mainstream culture. Beam me up, Scotty! And TARDIS. And more.

I grew up on the classics. The old black and white Doctor Who episodes. The 1960s Star Trek. I remember the impact, the very reverberations that happened when Star Wars was released. (Oh, and thank you to the dude at a recent con who insisted I was too young to have seen the early Doctor Who eps. My ego loves you right now).

So many shows prior to that opened the door, even just a little, to the highly active and very rich nerd culture we enjoy now. For the Sci show, I wanted to focus on a series that not only had impact on our current TVs today, but also on the convention circuit and fandom as a whole.

Without Star Trek, fans wouldn’t be as organized.

Without Star Trek, conventions wouldn’t happen at all (did you know that?).

Without Star Trek, TV shows wouldn’t necessarily cover the difficult topics in a way that is engaging and thoughtful.

The “wagon train to the stars,” a show that aired in spite of all odds, is the reason I am here right now painting sci-fi.

And the bonus is, fan or not, people recognize Star Trek. It’s not obscure or obtuse. And so, I am painting Classic Star Trek for Illumine Gallery. I don’t know if they will pick some or all of the pieces but all Classic Star Trek that I am painting is being painted with that exhibit in mind.

My favourite canvas of all – black canvas. So dramatic. So much potential. So yummy.

DRAMA!!!!

This is not overacting. It’s DRAMA. Fucking DRAMA!!!

*gazes intensely to the right* Please. Enjoy. My. Best. Side.

Galloping Around the Cosmos Is A Game For The Young

20″ x 16″

Acrylic on canvas

And yes… I know the quote is from Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan, but let’s face it, it applies. Captaining a starship was Kirk’s first, best destiny. Anything else is a waste of material.